CAT 2021 Slot 1 — VARC Question 23
Directions for sentence exclusion: Five sentences are given below; out of these, four come together to form a coherent paragraph, but one sentence does not fit into the sequence. Choose the sentence that does not fit into the sequence.
Answer & solution
Correct answer: But a large section of researchers and scientists across the world are at the receiving end of nothing short of an academic publishing scam.
- A
There is a dark side to academic research, especially in India, and at its centre is the phenomenon of predatory journals.
- B
But in truth, as long as you pay, you can get anything published.
- C
In look and feel thus, they are exactly like any reputed journal.
- D
They claim to be indexed in the most influential databases, say they possess editorial boards that comprise top scientists and researchers, and claim to have a rigorous peer-review structure.
But a large section of researchers and scientists across the world are at the receiving end of nothing short of an academic publishing scam.
Easy
Odd-sentence-out. Fix the theme of the four that cohere, then find the sentence that repeats or sidetracks the thread. The cohering theme: predatory journals — what they claim, how they look legitimate, and the reality that anything gets published if you pay.
Opener = 1. Sentence 1 introduces the topic: "There is a dark side to academic research... at its centre is the phenomenon of predatory journals." This names the subject the others describe.
Coherent chain 1-4-3-2. Sentence 4 lists what these journals claim (top databases, eminent editorial boards, rigorous peer review). Sentence 3 follows: "In look and feel thus, they are exactly like any reputed journal" — "thus" sums up those claims. Sentence 2 delivers the reality check: "But in truth, as long as you pay, you can get anything published." That 1-4-3-2 progression — topic, claims, appearance, reality — is complete and self-contained.
Spot the misfit. Sentence 5 — "But a large section of researchers and scientists across the world are at the receiving end of nothing short of an academic publishing scam" — shifts focus to the victims of a broader publishing scam. It neither describes how predatory journals masquerade nor continues the claims-vs-reality logic; it introduces a different angle and a second "But" that clashes with sentence 2's. It is the odd one out.
The sentence that does not fit is option (e) (sentence 5).
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